Magico S5 vs Tannoy Westminster Royal SE

04-16-13: Kiddman
Final thought: One is fairly good hifi, for hifi folks, it will be a stepping stone for you after you tire of them. The other is a classic, something for music lovers, something folks often keep for decades, something that affords you the opportunity of using any type of amp you wish.

Simple choice: music or the "hifi game".

Disagree! My .02 Depending on the electronics, you can make either sound "hifi game" or music.

I demoed Q3 with all Spectral and Constellation amp and EAR pre. Constellation and EAR were music and all Spectral were "hifi game". It gave me a headache after 30 minutes, was not in the mood to hear the Q7's next and just had to leave.

Thanks Devilboy and Charles1. It is unfortunate most folks learn about music and the sound of instruments through stereo systems. It takes a long evolution for them to realize what they really should be after. Some never do, cycling through hi-fi sound making equipment through their career, as opposed to gravitating toward what sounds like music. If the mission of the hobby is to listen to equipment then this is great, they are getting what they want. However, my direct experience is that many are not satisfied, and forget more and more any musical interest they once had. For these ones I feel empathy.

The S5's are not brittle .....the Q series is more detailed and can be more analytical if not paired with the proper amp.Most people are thinking of these I believe.

The S5 is more warm sounding to begin with. The S5 should be used with warm SS or powerful tubes....it is more forgiving than the Q series....completely different. Great imaging, very holographic, and detailed with my Ayon Triton 2 amp.

Just heard the Magico S5 and S1 combined by a relatively modest set of Audio Research SP17 and DS450 with a Moon cd-player.
Cabling Shunyata Anaconda Z-tron.
I found the S5 very relaxed, transparent and detailed which gives a natural feeling of just listening to a real instrument, eg on cello, violin. Lows were just too powerful with this combination, upgrading the amplification should be resolving this and the speaker already shows its great potential.
Overall I found S5 very pleasing and musical without fatique for the ear and no issues with brittle sound.
Did not heard the Tannoy.

About the looks: from just ugly (Tannoy) to excellent (Magico).
Your mileage will vary of course.

I have never really "got" magico at all, having heard various iterations at a number of shows. I went to a store demo of Devaliet amps, which had the D Premier and S5, this week. Now I get it, really delightful balanced sound, detailed without edge or grit, great soundstage.

Perhaps Magico fall into the same category as I would put Wilson, excellent, but difficult to match with the right electronics.

If it was me, I would still go Tannoy, for looks if nothing else. That is'nt mentioned much, but a speaker pair is a big piece of furniture you will be stuck facing for some years, hopefully, so looks do count. Again like Wilson, I find Magico have a look, only a mother could love, to put it politely